Lottery type games are well known throughout the world, attracting large numbers of players by offering large prizes. In general, players pick a selection of numbers from a defined range of numbers. Then, at a later time, another single selection of numbers from that defined number range is randomly made. The individual or individuals having made a selection of numbers matching the single randomly made selection is declared the winner and receives a prize.
A number of innovations have been developed relating to various games that allow a large number of individuals to participate with an opportunity to receive a prize. The following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations.
Berman et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,115, disclose an interactive communication system for game participants. Game show audience members and home viewer members pick six numbers from a total pool of numbers. Six random numbers are then selected from the pool, with an individual's selection that matches the random selection winning a prize.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,337 Sherman describes a device for playing a game that receives audio signals from a broadcast, then processes the signals to present questions to the player, the questions based on the content of the broadcast.
Yamamoto et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,888, disclose a computer game apparatus having selectable levels of difficulty which may be chosen by the individual players.
In U. S. Pat. No. 5,297,802 Pocock et al. describe a televised bingo game system for viewer participation. The players use telephone communication to participate. The system is designed to be totally automated, and has no staff to accept player entries or to operate the televising of the game.
Latypov, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,556, discloses an interactive computer game employing a digital computer system with a display and an interactive means for communicating user input to the computer system. The user is given a set time interval to arrange an array of elements on the display to form a predetermined pattern of the elements.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,088 Kravitz et al. describe a television game interactively played by home viewers, a studio audience and on-stage contestants. The game is similar to bingo with the numbers chosen randomly or selected by the contestants upon correctly answering a question.
Fuchs, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,753, discloses a gaming machine having a computing unit that displays various symbols. The computing unit predicts the probability of a future occurrence based on the present status of a game.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,075 Forrest et al. describe an interactive multi-media game system where players solve puzzles to progress through a game maze in order to solve a global meta-puzzle.
Fennell, Jr., et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,400, disclose a method of managing user inputs and displaying outputs in a multi-player game that is played on a plurality of terminals on a network in a manner that compensates for differences in network latency among different terminals.
Thus, it can be seen that for many of the above inventions, the winner or winners are determined strictly based on random probability. In other inventions, the quick recall of facts or the capacity for manual dexterity are responsible for determining the winner. Thus, there exist an unmet need for an interactive game where the input of each player has an effect on determining the outcome of the game, and accordingly the winner or winners.